So I’m in the process of buying my first property, it’s taken me ages to find somewhere on my budget which had that essential little space, where I can make all the noise I like at any time with no grief from neighbours😎
It’s small - 7.5 X 8.5 foot
Im looking to treat the room and get it sounding as good I can do with bass traps etc, and just wondering if any like minded folk here have any experience + any tips for me?
Thanks
Bass trapping (done properly) is going to fill 50% of that room.
I recommend forgetting bass traps and controlling the bass output (not overloading the room). Getting monitors with front facing ports, an absolute maximum of 5 inch drivers, a small high quality subwoofer such as an Eve Audio 6 or 7 inch woofer model, and treat 50% of the walls with 75mm (minimum) to 100mm deep acoustic foam tiles. Don’t buy cheap ones they’re shit.
The construction of the walls floor and ceiling can have a massive impact on the sound too.
The room is almost square, which could be an issue (more standing waves).
If you really want SOME bass traps then I would do top two corners of the room (against the ceiling), so they’d be triangle shaped and wouldn’t take up floor space. They’d probably be like a metre across in size though so would feel gigantic in there.
If you do decide to bass trap then research the proper sizes for actually being effective instead of buying off the shelf crap which is often way too small to be effective.
I’ll 2nd what Munro said about bass traps. Save your money so you can maximize your space and budget. A nearly square room is going to be problematic irrespective of wall treatment so accept it and move on.
Shelving with books and heavy curtains will help break up reflections if you’re wanting to avoid purpose built treatment.
I used to have a 10x10 foot space that was horrible for mixing and I found that I was better off to mix with headphones. So yeah, I say skip the wall treatment and invest in some nice headphones.
Congratulations.
I definitely wouldn’t skip wall treatment! You can have all your frequencies behaving well in there apart from the lowest octave, with just some acoustic foam tiles. They’ll stop flutter echoes (ringing) and lots of other issues.
Sorry I was unclear, I meant the bass traps in particular.
Thanks for the advice folk’s!
Sorry about my limited knowledge of the correct terminology. But the ceiling is probably plasterboard and vaults in to a pitched roof, so I thought about perhaps opening up and laying 4 inch thick 60kg knauf insulation between the rafters, then a fire proof framed fabric covering. Kind of like a huge ceiling trap if you like? Then the usual panels front/back/reflections etc.
I know it’s not ideal size but it is what it is… Nobody underneath and nobody above😎
No that’s great cheers. Not seen that one but have done a few searches here and elsewhere. Appreciated
As already mentioned forget bass traps, get 5” or smaller monitors either front facing ports or unported, wall treatment for flutter echoes if required (I used mineral wool based slabs as they cover a wider range and are not as large as foam) some decent headphones which are accurate and comfortable, personally I skipped the sub as I find there is more than enough bass in my room.
Any thoughts on the ceiling void thing? I’d hate to be like oh Jesus what f?!* Did I do that for😎
Currently using 5" monitors and tried a sub in the past, it just made everything rattle so not planning too get one
Take a look through some of the studio acoustics articles here: https://www.soundonsound.com/search/articles/Acoustics
This should give you a good idea of the limitations and possibilities of your space. Also, don’t rush out and spend lots of money on acoustic treatment products, you can do a great job with some simple DIY, and save yourself a lot of money. Rockwool is your friend.
Correction, “acoustic” foam is shit period. Don’t waste your money on a scam.
Look into Sonarworks if there is no space for proper treatment.
I used these and am happy with the result, they are not foam but a cloth covered mineral wool, they look neat are easy to fix up and were quite reasonably priced.
http://www.primacoustic.com/london-room-kits/
I could not be bothered to make my own from rockwool - I have used it in the past and whilst you might save a little money the extra time/hassle wasn’t worth it for me, that stuff can be very itchy if you get particles of it on your skin.
The kit I bought came with instructions and wall mounted spiked plates which hold them securely whilst still allowing for some adjustment if you do not get them in exactly the right place.
Haha. What you smoking.
Headband and AMG.
You need to get your facts in order as foam dose fuck all in the low frequency range.
Yes I know. You need to read more carefully and employ some manners.
Sometimes I wonder on smaller spaces would people ever recommend just going mono? You can always mix stereo on headphones… stereo parts on headphones always seemed easier to me anyways. Maybe I’m a bit off for thinking it haha but I always loved the idea of just getting super into mono. I still make stereo tracks though so I obviously don’t heed to my own thoughts. Maybe it was because a long while back I learned about how the Beatles were much more into mono mixes at least early on making the “best” versions of many of there albums if not close to all are mono.
I regularly do this, as in using one speaker yes?
Forget treatment… good headphones and a subpac